Buyer wants to see item in person

[tyler2girl]

Hello ebay community,

I have a very expensive jewelry item listed on ebay.  Someone asked if they could see the item first since I do not take returns.  I am a longtime member, with 100% positive feedback, but have never been asked to do this.  I might consider this if it was done at a bank, however, how does ebay get their fee if it is sold in person?  Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

[donsdetour]

hmm how expensive??

[bonjourami]

Ebay will get their fee when the item sells. I wouldnt do this if I were you, if you didnt have local pick up listed as an option. Otherwise, you have no proof of delivery with delivery, or signature, confirmation and the buyer can claim he never received it.

[donsdetour]

Were as I might let them examine an item in person: have a brick and mortar store:

It is very inadvisable for most to do so. If truly expensive this might be a robbery attempt etc...

I would not sell to them of off eBay.

They would still have to purchase it through eBay with the terms I listed it with.

Now that said:

I might also relist the item with pick up as an option so they could receive the item when examined.

Make sure the Q code works before giving up the item, and or id and receipt of the item picked up.

[merseyglo]

It used to be when the item sold..even before you being paid..eBay had charged your account the fee part of the purchase ..if nothing proceeded or sale not completed they would

then actually bill you (once a month).But now with managed payments it may not be the same.

If in person for local pickup they look it over approve then they give you a code as proof.But I would ask that they also send a message through eBay messages that item was received and is acceptable and as described.

[aristocratsandgypsies]

Hi,

Please be very cautious, this may be a legitimate buyer, but if so there are a few steps you have to take.

Do not bring this buyer to your home, meet in a public place & bring someone with you.

Do not under any circumstance allow him to buy via eBay, pay via eBay & then take the item with him, for he will be able to open a case in eBay & claim "Item Not Received", for you will not be able to prove that you gave him the item.

Do not, if he is happy & wants the item, do not hand the item over to him. It has to be shipped to him via insured shipping.

I sell vintage niche, a few years back I had a clutch of gorgeous engagement rings.

A buyer contacted me to see if he could view a ring, he wanted to propose to his girlfriend, after being charm personified, he then told me he had no loose cash, that he would pay via PayPal. I told him I would be happy to allow him to view the ring, we could meet in a local cafe, but that I could not accept a PayPal payment if he wished to take the ring with him, that he would have to pay in cash, or I ship the ring to him after he had viewed it.    I never heard from him again.

[toysaver]

I'm too skiddish to list anything of value but if I had this happen I'd met in the lobby of a police station.

[dryophelia]

@donsdetour 

Prices top out at $12G.

What could go wrong?

https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=tyler2girl&_sop=16

[eleanor*rigby]

---

@aristocratsandgypsies wrote:

Do not under any circumstance allow him to buy via eBay, pay via eBay & then take the item with him, for he will be able to open a case in eBay & claim "Item Not Received", for you will not be able to prove that you gave him the item.

Do not, if he is happy & wants the item, do not hand the item over to him. It has to be shipped to him via insured shipping.

---

That's why previous posters have recommended the current listing be ended and relisted with local pickup as an option. I don't know the policies where you are, but in the U.S. (ebay.com), the QR code protects a seller from an INR. 

The last suggestion of shipping the prospective buyer the item is totally unnecessary.

In future, you may want to read this page in order to respond accurately to ebay.com sellers who offer local pickup:

Offering local pickup 

[gurlcat]

Not the question you asked, but worth considering: would you buy a very expensive (anything) to be worn on your body with a no-returns policy?  I wouldn't, and I suspect a lot of buyers wouldn't.  Last year I sold an antique ring for $1450 (not sure if that's what you would call very expensive but I would).  By then I had learned the MANY advantages of offering not only returns but free returns, so I listed that ring as such.  Lo and behold, the first buyer returned it.  I was piiiiiiissed, because of how hard she had begged me to take a lesser amount (I had it listed for $1600) wrote repeatedly how she loved it so much, but then her reason for returning it was "didn't like how it looked on my hand."  --Well, it was all the ranting about how bad she wanted it that made it irksome, but truth be told, her return reason was legit.  I mean, you really don't know how apparel/accessories will look on you before you can try them on, and how they look on you is everything.  And because I offered free returns, she could give that honest reason rather than a lie about it being 'not as described' or 'damaged' or whatever.  And if you're thinking 'what difference does it make if they lie?'  well, take for example the designer boots I sold back when I had 'Buyer pays return shipping.'  The buyer purposely BROKE one of them, just to claim it arrived that way, so I would have to refund her and pay the shipping if I wanted the boots back (her photo of the boot showed it so badly mangled I obviously didn't want the pair back).  And poof, there went a luxury inventory item I couldn't even sell again.  But that ring?  LOL, relisted it even higher the second time, and got $1750 for it, and a very tickled buyer who gave glowing feedback and bought more items from me.    😁
Long rant short, lots of buyers won't even consider items they can't return if they don't love them, especially high-dollar ones.  And allowing them to easily return can be in your own best interest.  

[caldreamer]

Be very careful...in my hometown someone had their diamond ring snatched while showing it to potential customer inside Starbucks.    Better if you meet inside police station.

There is really no such thing as "no returns".    EBAY Money Back Guarantee (supersedes your "no returns" policy) allows customers to claim "counterfeit, defective, not as described" (you are forced to refund purchase price) plus shipping BOTH ways.   EBAY only looks at return tracking# (not what is inside the package).

Also customer can "reverse credit card charges" after they receive package (keep item and your money).  Very risky to sell "high value" items online.   If you get scammed you will not be protected.

[dbfolks166mt]

     A couple of things. First. Always remember no returns does not mean no refunds, Second never list anything on eBay you cannot afford to take a loss on. When my wife passed away several years ago I sold several pieces of expensive jewelry that none of the family members wanted. I did not list any of them on eBay. Expensive jewelry is a high target item for scammers and simply too easy for them to resell or melt down for the gold, silver or platinum scrap value.

     I listed everything on a couple of local forums with person to person exchange. Fortunately the police stations in my area have set aside meeting places for these type of exchanges that are under video surveillance.  All transactions were done in cash with an exchange of personal information and identification. I also provided the buyer with a bill of sale of sorts. No fees, no shipping, no concern over scams. 

     EBay was bad enough with regards to scams and NAD cases that were filed through their process but the recent surge in chargebacks has further compounded the problem. Regardless of what I am selling these days I have a dollar threshold on items I am willing to list on eBay. There is simply too much risk. 

[femmefan1946]

OP that's a hard no --unless you are willing to do a local pickup for cash.

the first buyer returned it. I was piiiiiiissed, because of how hard she had begged me to take a lesser amount (I had it listed for $1600) wrote repeatedly

A few red flags there.

[bonjourami]

"Prices top out at $12G.

What could go wrong?"

Good grief..Op, dont sell these items here, as a new seller you are a scam magnet.

[stuff4divas · Accepted solution]

@tyler2girl 

I would re list it for local pick up only and have them pay from the listing to see if they really have that much $$

I see you have a 12K$ item listed

I'd let them know they have to pay first from the listing, then meet in the police station, that you will video tape the entire transaction with them accepting the item with your no returns policy.

I can understand the buyer wanting to 'see' the item if it IS that 12K+ piece especially,

or even the 3K+ 0r 2K+ items.